Unity Faith and Order - Dialogues - Anglican Roman Catholic

The Joint Declarations of the Popes and the Archbishops of Canterbury

History

In 1960, an informal meeting took place when Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher was received in the Vatican by Pope John XXIII. This was the first meeting between a Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury since the Reformation. This was followed, after the Second Vatican Council, by a formal visit by Archbishop Michael Ramsey to Pope Paul VI in 1966. At the time of that visit, and on the five occasions when Popes and Archbishops of Canterbury have met formally since then, they have issued a Joint Declaration. The texts of these declarations are set out below. Archbishops and Popes have met more informally fairly frequently, such as the visit of Archbishop Rowan Williams to meet Pope John Paul II shortly after Archbishop Rowan was enthroned in 2003, and again when the Archbishop attended the Inauguration of the Ministry of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.